Electric iron



March 28, 1939. A. c. SCHMIDT ET Al.

ELECTRIC IRON- Filed March 27, .1937

2 Sheets-Sheet l 1 www 1 19 f4 18 32 j; ,.I

ATTORNEY Mllfd 28, 1939. A. c. SCHMIDT 5 1', AL 2,152,502

ELECTRIC IRON ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 2.8, 1939 PATENT OFFICE 2,152,502ELECTRIC moN Alfred C. Schmidt, 'Iveaneck, and Charles W. Bruger, NorthBergen, N. J.4

Application March 27, 1937-, Serial No. 133,292

3 Claims.

Our invention relates to improvements in electric sadirons or flatironsfor use in the home and by tailors,as they are for instance described inour co-pending application, Serial No. 53,572, filed December 9, 1935,and it is the principal object of our invention to provide an electricpressing iron which will indicate at a glance the fact that the currentis still on, if for instance the operator has been called away, andwhich when in use, when the current is interrupted, will indicate. theamount of latent heat still present in the iron,.so that the operator ata glance can see whether the heat still maintained in the iron is ofhigh intensity, medium, low, or altogether spent.

Another object of our invention is the provi. sion of a sadiron whichwill dispense and maintain a considerably greater amount of heat thanthe commonly used irons by Virtue of the increase in the ironing surfaceand the increase in length of the resistance coil wires and theirguidance in a novel, peculiar and special manner, so that the iron willkeep the heat for a considerable time `after shutting olf of the currentas indicated by a vari-colored indicator showing to 'the operator theintensity of the heat still maintained Within the iron, and consequentlyits usefulness for ironing purposes, which, as the practice has shown,

lin some instances amounts to about two hours, which thus results in aconsiderable saving of current.

Still another object of our invention is the provision of an electricatiron which does not Scorch the laundry, and requires no thermostaticregulation, and no special heat control, as the wires are suspended fromasbestos supports and passed through the same and over and betweenrollers by means of which the iron is guided across the surface to bepressed.

vion of an electric iron provided with a plurality of rollers rotatingin suitable chambers formed in the body of the latiron with their outerperipheries iiush with the smoothing or bottom face of the iron, andwhich are substantially conically-shaped in opposite directions.

A still further object of our invention is the Ouv.- invention furtherrelates to a sadiron, thel rollers of which are equipped with a shank tofit into a hollow screw, or the screw may be pointed and engage thrustball bearings in the rollers, or,

A further object of our invention is the provi- A hollow'screws andthrust ball bearings may be provided in the-rollers having a straightshank passing through thrust bearings in the screw.

- Other objects of Aour invention are the arrangement of the bearings,staggered, one higher than the other, opposite to one another, so thatthe straight roller is given a tape-ring" eilect. -We may furthermore,construct the rollers of a number of wheels or discs put together so-asto form a roller, either a straight roller or a tapered or conical one.A straight roller may be arranged withstaggered bearings, or. any numberof balls may be replacing the rollers protruding from the surface of theiron.

With these ends in view, it will be clear that directions by a childeven, while the rollers, which are arranged in convenient numbers andsizes, parallel to one another, staggered or not, protrude very littlebeyond the ironing surface, are flush with the same, and will increasethe heating surface of the iron by the even distribution of the heatthrough the chambers opening towards the bottom.

These and other objects and advantages of our invention will become morefully known as the description thereof proceeds, and will then bespecifically defined in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings forming a material part of this disclosure:

Fig. l is a plan View of the inner face of the bottom of the ironconstructed according to our invention.

` Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the iron, partly in section.

Fig. 3 is a section on line 3-3 of Figure 2.

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of another form of our sadiron.

Fig. 5 is a side view thereof partly in section and having'outer partsbroken away to disclose the interior construction of, the iron and itshandle.

Fig. 6 shows in detail view a spring of thermostatic metal to operatethe indicator.

As illustrated in Figures l to 3,` a flatiron of any well known typeincluding its body I0, and. handle II, suitably connected to the bodyand equipped with a contact socket I2, has itsbottom or ironing face,such as for instance plate I3, provided with openings Il, I5 throughwhich are visible the outer peripheries or mantles of rollers I6, Il,substantially ush with the bottom I3 of the iron. 'I'he rollers aresubstantially cone shaped at both ends; andV rotate on the spindles `l5notwithstanding the somewhat increase in the i irons weight, the rollerswill greatly facilitate its Y operation and allow an operation of theiron in all I8, I9 suitably journaled in the bearings 2|, 22

within the body ci the iron, and adjustably held in place by means oiscre or the like.

The resistance wire or coil 23,01 the heatin element is guided about ablo'ck 24 or the like of insulating material and through the openings25, 26 of preferablyasbestos brackets 21, 28, thev foot branches ofwhich are held in suitable depressions 29 of the plate I3 by' means ofthe screws 30 or the like. Between the rollers over which the coil wiresare guided, the same are guided about suitable holders 3l, 32 alsopreferably made from asbestos and then through the openings in thebrackets 21 ofthe next adjoining roller towards their contact sockets33, 34.

In the preferred forr'n of our invention, illustrated in Figures 4 to 6,the iron 35 has its handle 36 attached thereto by means of the hollowmem- 'bers or braces 31, 38 having their lower connecting member 39secured to the iron by means of the screws 40 or the like, while thecontact lsocket is designated 4I with the contacts 42.

Within thehandle 36 is formed a chamber 43 in which a lamp 44 isarranged, the light of which becomes visible to the user'through anarcuate opening 45. The light is connected by means of a cable 46 passedthrough the hollow brace 38 to one of the contacts 42 and by means of acable 41 to a switch contact spring 48. adapted to be engaged by asimilar contact 49 or to engage the same upon the suitable .operation ofa handle 58, while a cable 5i connects contact 49 with the other of thecontacts 42.

Within the iron a thermostatic spring 52 is secured to a suitablebracket 53, the inner end of which spring has connected thereto one endof a flexible shaft 54 passing through the hollow brace 31 and carryingat its outer end an indicator disc 55 Within its housing 56. Thishousing is provided `with a stationary hand 51, whilethe' indicator discis divided into four equal fields provided' with suitable marks anddifferently colored, as for instance red to indicate that the intensityof the heat within the iron is high, blue to indicate a heat prevailingin the iron of medium intensity, yellow to indicate heat of lowintensity and black to indicate that no heat is present in the iron, themarks may correspondingly be the letters H. M. L. O. or any othersuitable letters.

In operation, the depression of the handle 50 when the operator isgripping the iron will separate contacts 58 and 49 so that no light willshow through the slot 45 in the handle, if however, the operator iscompelled to leave the iron for a certain time, he will be'able toascertain by the light showing through slot 45, as now the circuit inwhich the lamp is located is closed, whether the current is still on ornot. The heating of the iron will also heat the thermostatic coil orspring 52 and its inner end will turn and turn the ilexible shaft andthe indicator connected therewith to indicate the degree of heat stillmaintained or prevailing in theiron even if the current has been cutoff, and inasmuch as the iron is capable of keeping the heat for a veryconsiderable time after being disconnected from the circuit, it will befound very convenient to ascertain at a glance upon the dial orindicator disc how much heat is still left for ironing purposes. Thenovel Way of guiding the heating coil through the iron will allow to useheating coils of considerable length and thus tol maintain within theiron an apprebeen shut off, in some instances, as the practice hasshown, for about2 hours. The arrangement of the rollers will greatlyincrease the ironing surface and contribute to the facility of operatingthe iron and the conical shape of the rollers will also tend to smoothenand facilitate the operation so that all wrinkles etc., are effectivelyflattened and the ironing is uniform throughout.

It will be understood that we have described and shown the preferredforms of our invention only as a few examples of the many possible waysto practically construct the same and that we may make such changes inthe general arrangement of the iron and in the construction of the minordetails thereof as come within the scope of the appended'claims, withoutdeparting from the spirit of our invention and the principles involved,so for instance we may just as well employ the thermostatic spring,indicator,"and the light to indicate the latent heat still prevailing intoasters, wallie irons, mangles, or any other similar article, if thecurrent to the same has been shut off, or to indicate that the currentis still on while the operator has left the article for a short time. Itwill also be clear that the colors of the indicator fields may bechanged to suit or provided with other denominations than thosedisclosed without departure from ourinvention.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patont is: n

1. An electric sadiron comprising a plurality of rollers tapered fromthe center towards the ends, and located within chambers in said ironextending from said chambers in part substantially flush with the bottomor smoothing plate of the iron, a heating coil within said iron ofconsiderable length, and means to guide said coil over and between saidrollers.

2. An electric sadiron comprising a plurality of shaped rollers taperedfrom the 'center towards the ends, and located Within chambers in saidiron opening towards its smoothing plate, and having their peripheriesin part substantially flush with said plate, means to rotatably holdsaid rollers in said iron, a heating coil of considerable length,asbestos brackets having perforations through which said coil is guidedabove said rollers and asbestos guides between saidf `journaled inbearings in said body, and screws to adjustably hold said spindles inplace, a heating coil of considerable length in said body, a block ofheat insulating material about which said heating coil is guided andperforated blocks of a heat insulating material secured to the bottomplate` through the perforations of which said coil is guided, andasbestos holders on said bottom plate between said rollers'about whichthe coil is guided.

ALFRED C. SCHMIDT. CHARLES W. BRUGER.

